Wounded
by chumett
Summary: Kolyat works as a contractor for C-Sec, operating under Commander Bailey, which he openly complains about, despite the fact that he secretly enjoys the opportunity for redemption. During a particularly boring assignment he meets Fin'ara, an Asari nurse. Nicknamed Fin by her coworkers, the Asari is intelligent and adventurous, piquing Kolyat's interest.
1. Chapter 1: Lights

Chapter 1: Lights

A loud screech and a flash of white light drew Kolyat out of his restless slumber. He sat straight up in bed, eyes struggling to adjust to the sudden darkness. After a moment of complete blackness he rubbed his eyes and swung his legs around the bed, wondering where that noise had come from. He searched for his omni-tool, sliding it on and waving it to activate the computer on his wall. It didn't turn on. He frowned and looked down, noticing a little flashing light in the corner of the power grid. C-Sec had his ward's power flagged as inoperational with temperature control turned off.

"Well, shit," he grumbled, attempting to set up a line of communication with the officer on duty.

"Krios," Officer Hamon answered after a few seconds. "Looks like your ward is down."

The frown on his face deepened, though he was relieved it was Hamon that had answered. "Yeah, I can see that." He stood and turned on his flashlight. "Any chance you know what in the hell is going on?" he asked as he made his way into the kitchen.

"Reports of some stray vorcha sabotaging power lines...that's pretty much it. Power should be back on in the morning. C-Sec is scheduled to arrive with relief for temperature sensitive species within the next three hours."

A light appeared under his door and seconds later he heard someone knock. "Great. Well, I guess that means for the next three hours I get to be yelled at. I'll catch you in the morning Hamon. Try and get this fucking power back on soon will you?"

The turian chuckled. "I'll do my best."

Reluctantly, Kolyat went to the door and opened it up, revealing the squinting Salarian on the other side. "Kolyat," he greeted dismissively. His eyes narrowed. "What's going on?" Behind him stood a small group of others who lived nearby, all waiting for him to solve the problem.

"Vawan," he sighed, rubbing his face. Already he could feel the temperature dropping.

"What's going on Krios," he repeated angrily.

Kolyat eyed him for a moment before gesturing to the emergency lights dotting the floor. "Power for this ward has been cut off. It probably won't be back up until tomorrow. In the meantime, C-Sec will be down within the next few hours to provide relief to temperature sensitive species."

Just as he had expected, that answer wasn't enough for Vawan. The Salarian crossed his arms and glared at Kolyat. "And why did C-Sec allow this? Why aren't they bringing relief sooner? Why is it going to take so long to restore power?" Sometimes Kolyat wondered if that frown was permanently imbedded on his face like that.

"Look, I don't have any answers for you. I was asleep and woke up to this just like you did. My suggestion is to make sure your families are okay, bundle up, and sleep through it. If you're temperature sensitive or don't have enough blankets to keep yourselves warm, C-Sec will be down shortly to distribute them."

It took an hour of standing in the doorway and repeating that information several times over before people really began to understand that that was all he knew. That really was all that there was to know in the first place! Power outages happened in the lower wards often and they simply weren't a high enough priority to take care of immediately. It was the unfortunate truth of it and Kolyat was in the uncomfortable position of understanding that truth despite the fact that he himself lived there and was growing frustrated with the lack of attention paid to him and the other residents. Even more frustrating, in situations like these he was often the first one being blamed, as he was the closest blamable C-Sec Officer ("contractor" if he was being technical). An easy target due to his history.

At the end of that first hour he had to excuse himself as he had begun to shiver violently due to being exposed to such cold temperatures. A small crowd of residents remained stationed outside his door, waiting for his return, and he did, though he was wrapped tightly in two large blankets. For some reason they remained, despite how ridiculous he looked. Another hour of calming the crowds and repeating the same droll lines over and over again finally rewarded him as a few C-Sec Patrol Officers came to dispense what little aid they could offer in such minor situations as these ones. As soon as the attention was finally off him, he returned to the seclusion of his apartment, glancing at his omni-tool clock, which flashed 3:47 AM.

Another knock at the door locked in his bad mood and he answered it with fire in his eyes. Luckily for him, it was an apathetic officer with special instructions to deliver a self powered heating blanket to him. He thanked him despite the dirty look he was given and promptly shut the door, exchanging the mountain of blankets he had piled on his back for one regular one and the heated one. He settled himself on the futon crammed in the corner and closed his eyes.

* * *

"Kolyat," Bailey grumbled in his usual way. "You look tired."

All he could do was frown at the human, eyes darting towards him before he handed over the updated crime report from the lower wards he had been working on. "Power outage."

"I saw that this morning," he chuckled, shaking his head without even looking up. "Was it cold?"

"Cold enough to keep me up." He crossed his arms and stared down at the Commander, waiting for his usual barking request for coffee or some other trivial vice of his. But none came.

Instead, Bailey shuffled the papers in front of him and looked up. "You'd do well to smile at least once a week," he joked. Ironic. "Looks like Captain Haron wanted to see you down in Zakera. Go make yourself useful."

He shook his head and promptly left in search of a skycar, leaving the chuckling Commander behind.

* * *

 _A/N: Hi all! This'll be the first Mass Effect fic I've ever published. I'm not entirely sure of the direction that I'll be taking it in, but you can expect updates every week!_


	2. Chapter 2: Day Off

Chapter 2: Day Off

"Ma'am I understand that Creed has taken your identity," the Turian began carefully, addressing the crazed human woman before him as sincerely as he could. At the name she twitched violently, eyes darting towards him. "I'm a C-Sec Officer and so are these men beside me. We're here to help you."

Her body was shaking so rapidly she was almost vibrating. "Bastard," she hissed. Even her speech came out at hyper speed. Kolyat stood next to the others, ready to act if she so much as moved in his direction. "That bastard! My name! My name! He's got my — you know! — he has it. I know you know. You probably work for him!"

"You just need to take a deep breath and calm — "

Kolyat saw her move before the others. He leapt leapt her path, catching her square in his chest. His arms locked around her as she began screaming. He felt teeth sink into his shoulder and let out a grunt. A nurse came out of nowhere, injecting a sedative. After a second he felt the weakness in her jaw and the limpness in her body. Teeth unhinged from his skin and she went completely slack in his arms, the only indication of her craziness apparent in the dark bite mark she'd left against his neck.

"Damn," he muttered as the gurney came rolling towards them. The other officers were already gone, leaving him the work. He let out a frustrated snort.

Once she was on the gurney and wheeling towards the exam area he glanced down at the nurse who was now looking up at him.

"She bit you," she said, grinning at him and shaking her head. An Asari.

He shrugged, rubbing at his neck. "Yeah well, comes with the job I guess."

"Let me get something to disinfect it with at least," she said, leaning up to squint at it before disappearing once again. This time she came back with a small bottle, a tube, some cotton, and a bandage. "Go ahead and sit down."

He returned to the seat across from his father, glancing over at the drell who had watched the situation unfold with sharp eyes. Eyes of an assassin. The Asari nurse warned him of a stinging pain before spraying on a cool antibacterial mist at which he did not even blink. She dabbed around it with the cotton, let it dry, and then applied a small amount of blue cream before placing the bandage over it.

"Thank you," he sighed, leaning back.

"You're welcome," she said, gathering her materials. "Try not to get bitten anymore." And she was off again into the Inpatient Wing.

"Quite the display," his father said, braiding his fingers together and watching Kolyat.

He snorted, looking out the window and shaking his head. "Certainly not a fun display."

"I imagine your profession rarely comes with a 'fun' day." When Kolyat glanced at his father he thought he saw a glimmer of pride in his eyes. He looked quickly away as a small knot began forming in his chest.

He cleared his throat. "Yes, well, I guess I'm not looking for fun," he shrugged as the knot faded.

"Even on your days off, trouble seems to find you," he murmured, eyes never leaving him. "The gods certainly seem to think that this is where you belong. If it were easy, you would not be walking this path. That I know for sure."

Of course he was right. All this trouble seemed to find him and each and every time it did he was glad he was there to act. No matter the circumstance a certain level of relief always came with the successful resolution of such situations.

But he wasn't there to think of work. He was there to check in on his father. They had been interrupted shortly after his arrival so they hadn't gotten the chance to speak much about his condition. Kolyat finally turned his eyes on Thane and asked, "How are you feeling today?"

"I have had much worse days," he admitted, closing his eyes and sinking into the chair. "Though I have also had better. For now, however, I will be fine. Do not worry."

"'Do not worry'" he repeated, shaking his head with a little snort. "Easier said than done I would say. You're sure you're okay? The nurse told me you had trouble getting up today."

"As I said, I have had better days. But I did get up and here I am."

Sometimes Kolyat wondered if his father put up a front during their visits, intending to keep him separated from whatever agony he was going through. It was hard to decide whether that was selfless or selfish of him. More often than not it felt as if he was attempting to spare his feelings at the direct cost of his ability to trust whatever came out of his mouth. But he appreciated the thought and knew deep in his heart that he was doing all he could to preserve what little relationship they had left before it was too late. He tried too, though it was hard on some days to forgive.

Today he was more worried than anything.

"And your breathing?" he asked. "How has that been?"

"There have been slight improvements, though they generally regress within the next week or so. Soon, I doubt there will be much improvement either way," he said, turning his head to look out the window. Kolyat knew there was comfort there for him. When he had first reunited with Thane so many months ago he had been fervent. Lively. But now, it seemed as though he had aged a hundred years. Even when they conditioned together he often found himself slowing down to allow his father to catch up or catch his breath. Before he rarely sat during their visits, usually opting to stand closer to the window or take a walk on the bridge a floor above; but now he seemed to sit more and could only walk for so long before he needed to stop and catch his breath. He didn't know whether it was the disease itself or if Thane was starting to let go of his need for constant movement in favor of rest. Either way, both options gave Kolyat the chills.

"You seem sure," he said, not knowing whether or not he wanted to hear the response.

"There is no point in denying the inevitable," he sighed, eyes falling to the ground, more in contemplation than in sadness or fear. "I can feel it coming."

Kolyat nodded, his eyes narrowing. But his father was right; there was no point. He already had Kepral's Syndrome. He was already receiving good care. He had his son once again. This life of his was coming to an end but it seemed as though it would be a good end. Deep inside Kolyat knew that he was glad to be here for it, despite any malicious feelings his heart still held for his father. They were still there of course — small little moments of weakness when he wondered why he cared so much — but they grew fewer and far between as he spent more time with the Drell, understanding what his life had become. It was hard to hold a dying man in mal contempt.

"Have you had the chance to see the new Asari play?" he asked, opting to change the subject. "I've heard good things about it, though I myself haven't had the time to go."

"A Turian patient was raving about it a few days ago," he commented absently, though it seemed his mind was in another place. He finally narrowed in on the present and looked at his son. "You ought to take the time to treat yourself Kolyat. Life is too short to spend the entirety of it on the streets for C-Sec or here in the hospital for me."

He shrugged a little. "C-Sec is all I really know here on the Citadel." He took a deep breath. "And I'd prefer to spend what time I do have left with you. Someday I may regret not doing so."

Despite how serious he was about Kolyat taking time from himself he could see the smile on his father's face at his desire to be with him. Sometimes it even surprised him, but he knew that in the end his place was here. All other aspects of his life could wait for this moment to be over. It was all that was important now. Just him and his father.

That's right.

Just him and his father.

* * *

Later that afternoon, when he finally returned from the hospital, he didn't even bother checking his messages. If it was that urgent he would have known about it already. Instead he opted to crash into his bed, kicking off his clothes all the way down to his boxers. He couldn't remember the last time he had taken a nap but now seemed like as good a time as any to indulge.

Of course, as soon as his head hit the pillow his mind began to race.

Haron had asked him to check on a few things down in Zakera Ward the other day. Nothing caught his immediate attention, but he did find some interesting things, things that put him on edge. Missing information, lost logs, and reports of people disappearing all had him stumped and for some reason he felt there was something more to it all. Of course, no one wanted to talk to him about it. Not even the other officers.

Sometimes being the only fucking drell associated with C-Sec was a real pain in the ass.

"Get some help," Bailey had offered in his usual, unhelpful way. He reminded him that very few people were likely to help him without orders straight from the Executor himself, but all Bailey did was laugh and shake his head at him, muttering something about kids these days.

After some time laying there and thinking about all the things he could be doing in that moment to get this all straightened out he sat up, putting his clothes back on and heading into the kitchen to refuel. Technically he wasn't supposed to be working on his days off but technically he wasn't a C-Sec regulated employee anyways. A few extra hours of investigation wouldn't hurt anyone. So he was out the door.


	3. Chapter 3: Trust a Drell to Dance

Chapter 3: Trust a Drell to Dance

Kolyat leaned against the elevator wall as he rode up towards the hospital for the third time that week. Now, it was business. Bailey had sent in a requisition for extra medical supplies a week ago after the Chora's Den incident depleted their stores for patrol officers. Somehow, Huerta always seemed to have a larger than average emergency stock that they didn't like sharing. But the patrol officers needed that supplies now; the resupply ship wouldn't be there for another two weeks due to pirating delays and they were hurting.

Avina promptly began to drone about arriving at the hospital. He slid through as the door glided open and made his way towards the reception desk. The usual Asari stationed there — Nisette — must have been on her break because a human woman was standing in her place. He'd never seen her there before.

"Good morning, sir," she greeted with a smile when he approached the desk. Yeah, she was definitely new. "How can I help you?"

He showed her his C-Sec contractor's badge, giving her a reassuring smile when her face immediately fell as if she had done something wrong. "My name's Kolyat, I was hoping to speak with Dr. Sha'ti."

"I'll see if the Doctor is available," she mumbled, trying her best not to meet his eyes. In an effort to get away from his watchful gaze she shuffled to the other side of the desk to make the call.

He leaned against the counter and glanced around. His father wasn't in his usual spot today. It was likely that he was in for treatment. Kolyat had an appointment in a few days to donate blood for his transfusions.

"The Chief Physician is attending right now," the new human said, interrupting his thoughts. He glanced over at her. "If you'd like to wait a moment, she should be out soon. I believe Nurse Trudi is on her way out to see if she can help you with any concerns."

Sure enough the door to the labs came sliding open and a nurse strode out, eyes set on him. She looked scary.

"You're here about the requisitions?" she asked, a hint of a snarl in her voice.

He blinked. "Yes."

"Dr. Sha'ti approved them three days ago," she said, looking at the order on her omni-tool. Her eyebrows pulled down and she shook her head. "But apparently our store manager flagged your request."

That was strange. "Is there a reason for that?"

"Well I'm about to go find out," she said, putting her hands on her hips and frowning. Damn, he did not want to get on her bad side. With the look on her face he was almost positive she wouldn't be opposed to first-degree murder if ever wronged. Her sharp look turned towards him, catching him slightly off guard as he flinched back a little. "I'll talk with him now; you'll have your shipment approved by the end of the day."

"Sounds good," he muttered, turning away from her fiery look and stretching his arms up into the air. It felt good to have the brunt of the work on someone else's shoulders.

He headed back to Bailey's office, hoping that this new course of action would satisfy him for the time being. As he came through he announced his findings and sat himself in a chair, waiting for his next request. But all Bailey said was, "You need to get out," eyes never leaving the screen in front of him.

Kolyat snorted. "That's ironic, you saying that to me."

"Seriously," he said, giving the young drell a look. "I have a kid. Had a wife. Not a lot out there for me now. But you? You're young. You haven't even had the time to make big mistakes yet. Take the rest of tonight off and get yourself to Chora's Den or some other fucking club and have fun. You're only twenty-one. Live your life for yourself sometime."

None of that sounded appealing to him, but there was no way the Commander was going to let him work through the night tonight. It was best to just play along, head home, and lie about it in the morning. So he gathered his things and wished Bailey a good night.

As he settled into a taxi he surprised himself by selecting Purgatory as his destination. He hadn't meant to, his finger must have just slipped. But the car confirmed his selection and headed in the direction of the club. Kolyat sat in complete shock for a moment, wondering why in the hell he would do that. What he needed was a good night's rest. Purgatory was the exact opposite of that. In fact, if he went there, he'd probably catch some sort of disease. It was a bad idea. Such a bad idea. So why wasn't he changing his course? He wasn't too out of the way from his apartment — he could still change his destination in time to make it home before it was too late for him to want to fall asleep — but he didn't. As he sat there he wondered if going might be worth it. He wasn't sure what good would come from it, but he had a feeling he had pressed that destination for a reason, so he sat back and let the taxi take him there.

Upon arrival the first thing he noticed were the C-Sec officers stationed outside. Thankfully, he didn't know any of them. He wasn't sure they would have noticed him either way, as they were mostly preoccupied with a few drunken patrons vomiting all over the ground.

Kolyat shook his head and headed into the club.

Music had never been an interest of his but he found that the pumping bass had his heart jumping. It was as if all he wanted in the world right then and there was to hit someone. His eyes scanned the crowd, finding no one he knew. Thank the gods. He headed towards the bar to order a drink.

"Rough day?" the Turian bartender asked.

He snorted. "More like rough year," he muttered, downing whatever it was he had ordered.

The Turian's mandibles flared. "On the house then," he said, sliding him another.

"Thanks," Kolyat toasted him. The Turian nodded his head before heading down the other side of the bar to attend to more customers.

With a slight buzz going, Kolyat turned to look across the bar and up at the dance floor. He could see the tops of heads peeking over the edge as people danced to the deep throng of the music vibrating off the floors. There was a certain appeal to the club, though it gave him a slight headache. One more drink down (or could it have been two or five?) and he felt as though he ought to definitely take a look up there, just to see what was going on. As he made his way up the stairs the song changed; changed to something carnal and deep. The low thrum of the bass stirred a pot of desire in his stomach as he met eyes with a human woman moving across the dance floor towards him. Before he knew it she had him by the hands, pulling him into the cluster of dancers as she pulled him close and began dancing on him.

It must have been the alcohol in his system because he felt himself dancing with her and enjoying it. Much more than he ought to have. The way he moved! It was all hips and arms and twists and he did it, albeit a tad clunky at times, but nevertheless just as good as every other half drunk patron. Every movement his body made he felt fluidly. He felt like he could do anything in the world. He definitely wanted to hit someone.

And then he saw her across the floor, pale blue skin practically glowing in the dim light. Her movements flowed to the beat of the music as she pulled him into her trance. Her hips moved like a river crashing against the shore and he found himself captivated by them. Their eyes caught and he found himself falling deeper and deeper into that amber glow as they narrowed knowingly at him. Her eyes were so bored, so sultry, so absolutely curious. He thought she went to move towards him, but she was suddenly stopped by the pull of a turian.

Kolyat stopped dancing and watched carefully as she turned to look up at the obviously drunk man. He leered at her and though he wasn't close enough to hear exactly what was said he could tell by the look on her face that it wasn't anything good. She responded in kind, fists balling as she tore her arm from him. That didn't make him happy. Kolyat watched for half a second as the turian took a menacing step forward before he staggered once, twice, towards them, rearing up his fist and launching a punch right into the turians mandible. Oh gods it felt so good. The music got to him as he took another step forward and grabbed the turian by his carapace, holding him up so he could hit him one more time, hard. There was no time for anyone to scream, the man just dropped before anyone knew what he had done.

"Damn," he muttered, shaking his hand out. He turned to her to yell over the music, "You okay?"

She nodded her head, eyes narrowed in a smile. "I could have taken him."

That made him laugh. "You certainly could have," he said, spinning on his heel to face her. "But I just really, really wanted to fucking hit someone." Now that he had that out of his system he looked at the clock on his omni-tool. Down the stairs a patron had alerted C-Sec to the disturbance. Maybe it was time for him to get to bed. He leaned down close to her and smiled, whispering, "Don't tell anyone it was me. Stay safe."

And with that, he disappeared back out into the wards, hailing a taxi to take him home.

* * *

You know, I'm really trying to challenge myself here with this slow-burn thing. I always jump right into the romance so I wanted to try and force myself to wait. Hopefully that works out...


	4. Chapter 4: Turians Aren't Soft

Chapter 4: Turians Aren't Soft

 _He couldn't breath. Dammit he couldn't breath. That metallic taste was on his tongue again. Blood. So much blood in his mouth._

 _His mother stood before him, eyes cold as she stared down._

 _"How could you?"_

 _He couldn't fucking breathe._

 _"You let me die."_

* * *

"Fuck," he groaned as a harsh throbbing drew him from his sleep. He sat up from his sprawled out position on the futon, rubbing the spot just above his brow scales. How much had he had to drink last night? And damn why did his hand hurt so much?

"Ah, shit." It was crusted with blood.

He vaguely remembered punching a Turian.

He got to his feet slowly, shaking his hand as he made his way to the sink to wash off the dried blood surrounding the scrapes he had earned. If he recalled correctly, the feeling of satisfaction and the look on that pretty Asari's face was well worth it. Maybe Bailey was right; maybe he did need to get out more.

After he got himself patched up he went to check his messages. Looked like the man himself had left one.

"Damn civilians...the hospital finally approved our request but need someone to sign for the shipment. Everyone's on duty so you're stuck with it."

Kolyat rubbed his face and looked at the clock. It was already one in the afternoon. Well, he needed to shower anyway; if it was already that late the hospital could wait another half an hour for him to get there.

He took his sweet time, letting the warm water cascade down the back of his neck, alleviating some of the pressure at the base of his neck. His eyes trained on the bottom of the shower, thinking of how his father was doing and wondering if his transfusion in a few days would be of any benefit. They'd been helping extend the time he had left, but they were becoming more and more frequent. Kolyat worried that soon his blood wasn't going to be enough.

As he got himself dressed he tried to rid himself of such thoughts.

It was a dreary existence he figured, spending so much time in a hospital when your whole life was still ahead of you. Time had been taken from him. And from his father. Sometimes he wondered what it would be like to never go back. Stop his visits. Quit donating his blood. There were days when he wished his father would just die already and days where he hated himself for thinking it. Those were the hard ones. Ones spent sitting in the hospital, just watching him cough and struggle to raise his chest.

He shook it from his head, checking his cred balance and vowing to get himself some lunch after signing for the supplies.

Avina's droning in the hospital elevator had become a buzzing in his ear. He could recite her lines in his sleep if he had to. Once in the Patient Lounge he headed for the receptionist desk.

"Mr. Krios," Nisette greeted, grinning at him as he approached. "You must be here to sign for the supplies in the store room."

"Yeah," he sighed, giving her a polite smile.

She gestured for him to follow as she told the human receptionist from last time to keep an eye on things. Nisette guided him through the labs, past the exam rooms, and to another elevator that took them to the second floor where surgery, offices, and a few other rooms were. The store was nestled in the back corner, guarded by a solitary store manager.

"Carpik," she said, putting a hand on her hip as she addressed him. "This Drell is from C-Sec; he's here to sign the statements for the shipment going out today."

The salarian glared at him for a moment before grunting at her in response, climbing shakily to his feet and staggering over to the storeroom computer to input some information. Nisette just gave Kolyat a look and shrugged her shoulders, wishing him luck before heading back to the elevator. He furrowed his brow scales and crossed his arms, waiting quietly for Carpik to make any indication that he was even doing what he had been asked to do. But the salarian just stood there, typing away and mumbling to himself.

"What are you doing?" he asked, after waiting several minutes in silence. Carpik didn't say anything. He didn't even acknowledge that he was being spoken to. "Are you serious?" Kolyat muttered, letting out a frustrated breath and glancing down both hallways to see if anyone else was coming.

"Be patient," Carpik snarled, several moments after Kolyat had even said anything.

He snorted and threw his arms out, rolling his eyes and turning around to lean against the desk.

Down the hall, two asari were making their way towards him, heads bowed as they reviewed some sort of report. He watched as the younger one nodded her head, making a curious face before gesturing towards where he was standing. They exchanged a few words before parting ways, the asari walking right towards him. When she turned and saw him standing there she paused, eyes narrowing critically as she seemed to evaluate him. He felt awkward under her gaze.

Her eyes changed slightly, widening as she looked at him. A cocky little grin touched her face as she came striding up. "Are you here for Carpik?"

"Yes," he said tentatively, glancing back at the salarian before turning his eyes back to her.

She made a face, nodding her head and staring down at her omni-tool, looking like she had much more to say. Looking like she knew something he didn't. "So," she began, shrugging her shoulders. "Have you, uh, punched any turians lately?"

"Wha — ?" Oh. Oh! It was her. The asari from last night! And the nurse who had cleaned up that damned bite mark that drug crazed human had given him! "Well, shit."

She laughed. "You certainly get around," she commented, eyebrow tipping up. "Do you make it a habit of getting into fights wherever you go?"

"Not particularly," he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. Or was that a lie? He really did like to fight. A fatal flaw really.

"You're a surprisingly good dancer," she commented lightly, eyes turning back to her reports as she began transferring information to a terminal on Carpik's desk. "I suppose you need to have good footwork."

He chuckled a little. "I'm a C-Sec contractor," he explained. "Fighting comes with the job sometimes."

"Even at a bar at eleven o'clock at night?"

"Especially at a bar at eleven o'clock at night," he said, tilting his head towards her. When she gave him a look he shrugged. "Maybe I was undercover."

"A Drell?" she asked, putting a hand on her hip. "There aren't many of you on the Citadel. Sending one undercover seems a little counterproductive don't you think?"

Before he could respond there was an agitated cough behind them. Carpik had returned and he was glaring at Kolyat who still leaned up against his desk. "Sign," he demanded, holding out a datapad to him. The drell took it, reading over the shipment details before signing. According to this, an armored courier service would have the supplies delivered to the Academy by five o'clock that night. As soon as his eyes went up Carpik snatched it away from him and tossed it on his desk.

"Carpik," the nurse sighed.

"What do you kids want? I'm busy."

The asari rolled her eyes and turned towards him, beginning to argue about strange numbers and missing inventory. Kolyat figured that was his cue to leave and so he went on his merry way, ready to report back to Bailey that all that hospital shit was taken care of.

On his way to speak with Bailey he stopped at Apollo's Cafe to grab something to eat, taking a few moments to sit and watch people walk through the Presidium, eyes sharp. Nothing exciting ever happened here except for all of the white collar crime. But that didn't really concern him. The Presidium wasn't even on his watch list anymore. Not necessarily because nothing ever seemed to happen, but because of the way the turians and asari looked at him as they walked by; as if he didn't belong. Or the salarians who seemed to have no problem asking him why he was there. It made him want to blow the station up. In slow motion. That had been the focus of several very amazing dreams.

But it was his duty to protect and serve. At least, that's what he always reminded himself. And right now, he had to talk to Bailey. So he stood up, disposed of his trash, and headed towards the C-Sec office to talk to the Commander.

"Krios," his assistant greeted blandly, eyeing him as he came walking in. "What do you want?"

"Always so happy to see me," he snorted, shaking his head. He approached the desk and crossed his arms. "I've got to talk to Bailey."

"Can't you just go up there yourself? We've got to reserve channels for priority calls."

Now he was just being an asshole. "Look Septimus, you know as well as I do that the Presidium comm lines are filled with jack shit. Bailey's got me on my way to talk to Haron after this, so patch me in and save me some time."

An officer from across the room glanced in their direction. "Is the drell causing trouble Septimus?" he asked, approaching to size Kolyat up as if he were going to arrest him.

"Not yet," Septimus muttered as he began to patch in the call. But the other officer just stood there, glaring at Kolyat. A new guy. He'd never seen him around before. "He's contracting."

Confusion flashed across the turian's face as his assumptions were thrown to the wind. "Oh," was all he said before returning to whatever the hell he was doing before. Kolyat grit his teeth and said nothing.

"He's on," Septimus said, turning his shoulder to Kolyat so he would leave.

He took a deep breath and went to the terminal, face hard as a rock. Bailey was already there, waiting as patiently as he could. "I'm assuming everything went to shit at the hospital," he said in his optimistic manner.

"No," he said. The Commander's surprise was evident on his face as he continued typing away at whatever report or message he was working on. "I signed. The shipment should arrive before five."

"Well, that's a relief. Now that all that bullshit is taken care of, you're free to help Haron now; he seemed like he had a few things for you to look into. Other than that, I don't have much of anything for you." Bailey paused then, turning to look at him with a sly look in his eyes. "Listen, there are rumors going around that a drell knocked out a turian soldier at Purgatory last night. Real pretty asari told C-Sec he was only trying to protect her."

He shrugged. "Well, the drell was probably just feeling a little chivalrous after a few drinks."

His voice lowered. "Did you have fun kid?"

"For what little time I was there, yeah," he shrugged. A smile crossed his face. "Met the asari again when I was at the hospital. She's a nurse there."

"Did you get her name?"

He froze, realizing that no, in fact, he hadn't. Damn. All Bailey did was laugh at him.

"Shit," Kolyat muttered just as the feed was cut. He glanced over at Septimus who was trying his best to avoid his gaze. All he did was frown and turn away, heading towards the elevator to get to a taxi terminal.


	5. Chapter 5: Odd One Out

Chapter 5: Odd One Out

As he approached the C-Sec office in Zakera he heard the Asari officer closest to him mutter, "The Drell is here."

Hamon looked up at him, eyes darting to the other, mandibles flared as he paused his data entry and leaned back on his heel.

"Krios," Adam acknowledged as he came striding in. "Haron wanted to see you," he added, as if the Drell had done something wrong.

"That's why I'm here," was all he offered, unwilling to play their games today.

Hamon cleared his throat. "You can head in if you want Kolyat." He gestured towards the Captain's office. "He's not doing anything important."

He nodded his head in thanks. Inside, Haron was staring at his computer screen with his hands folded just over his mouth. Nothing, essentially. When Kolyat walked in he glanced up. "Good, you're here. I called you down because of the data you had sent me a few days ago. The missing logs and strange numbers. It's not enough to warrant suspicion on its own — not even by a long shot — but I trust your instincts kid and the overwhelming amount of mistakes I'm seeing here just strikes me as odd." He stood up, moving towards the C-Sec terminal on the wall. "But, you know C-Sec Command. Huxley isn't going to allocate resources to something like this unless there's hard proof. I've done the best I can, but beyond what resources you already have, I can't give you anything. Command doesn't even want me to waste your paycheck on this but I managed to ruffle some feathers and got you approved to look into things. That's all I've got Krios."

What else had he expected? This was his best case scenario from the beginning and he was happy enough to just have the clearance to do some investigating, even without the aid of C-Sec resources or their officers. In fact, he preferred it that way. "No complaints here Captain," he said with a subtle smile. "But I appreciate the effort getting me the okay."

Haron nodded, typing away at the terminal. "Since Commander Bailey is your Hiring Commander he'll have to approve, but I doubt you'll have problems there," he informed him as he transferred the data to Bailey. Not a moment later Kolyat received a message of approval. That old man probably hadn't even read any of it.

The Turian went back to his desk, eyeing Kolyat carefully. "Remember Krios, if we call you in, this investigation of yours is going to have to be put on the back burner until you find something to get Command on your side."

"Understood."

"For now, I don't have anything else that for you. You're free to investigate as you see fit, but I have a feeling Huxley will be throwing some menial work at you out of spite," he warned him.

But he was prepared for that. He honestly hadn't even expected to get this far. Leaving Haron's office in a good mood was foreign to him, but a welcome change of pace. The blank stares and not so subtle muttering didn't even put a damper on his mood as he headed through the office and out into the streets.

His first order of business was putting all the information together. Just to be safe he'd withheld from setting up a link diagram so as not to get his hopes up about delving any further into all of these anomalies. But now he was free to do as he pleased. At least in a general sense. Tonight was going to be a fun night.

As he headed through the ward to the lower housing district he was stopped.

"Kolyat, hey," Hamon said, coming practically out of nowhere.

"Hamon," he greeted tentatively. His eyebrow scales lowered. "What's up?"

The Turian shrugged. "Heard you got bit at the hospital a few days ago," he said, attempting to draw up some light conversation.

Immediately he was pushed to the defensive. "Bitten while holding back a drug-induced rage."

"No, I know," he said quickly, waving away the hostility sparking in the air. "I only wanted to say nice job. Really. That's all."

"Oh."

"Look, all the guys at the office are going out for drinks tonight," he began, looking away. "I know you're not technically C-Sec, but you're welcome to come along."

His eyes narrowed and he turned his head up slightly. "Who's inviting me?" he asked suspiciously. "Everyone at the office? Or you?" When Hamon didn't answer he let out a sigh and shook his head, lowering his shoulders a little. "That's what I thought. Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll skip out on it."

"Yeah," the Turian sighed. "Well, either way, have a good day."

"Sure, thanks, you too," he muttered, hoping he didn't sound rude. But Hamon didn't look offended in the slightest as they parted ways.


End file.
